"

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Great Price for $8.83

This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women Review



I have always enjoyed the "This I Believe" essays I've managed to catch on NPR. For me, listening to the essays in the audio format, in the author's voice definitely adds to the impact of the essays. That said, the written essays are still worthwhile and inspiring reading. Several of them really made an impact. For example, as a Christian, I wouldn't have expected the essay by atheist Penn Jillette to be among my favorites. But he states his beliefs, or non-beliefs, so well that I now have a different understanding and respect for those who don't believe in God - though my beliefs remain unchanged. The essays are short, most being 2 to 2-1/2 pages in length. This makes for an easy read, particularly for those who have limited uninterrupted reading time. It's easy to pick up the book, read an essay or two in their entirety, and then put the book down again when duty calls. If you're not sure whether you want to spend money on this book, check it out from your local public library - I did.



This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women Feature


  • ISBN13: 9780805086584
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed



This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women Overview


“A welcome change from the sloganeering, political mudslinging and products of spin doctors.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty Americans—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that the book’s title begins. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Featuring many renowned contributors—including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike—the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk in Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells yellow pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on Rhode Island’s parole board.

The result is a stirring and provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs—and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them—reveal the American spirit at its best.
Jay Allison, the host and curator of This I Believe, is an independent broadcast journalist. His work appears often on NPR and has earned him five Peabody Awards. He is the founder of the public radio stations that serve Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod, where he lives.

Dan Gediman is the executive producer of This I Believe. His work has been heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Fresh Air, Marketplace, Jazz Profiles, and This American Life. He has won many of public broadcasting’s most prestigious awards, including the duPont-Columbia Award.
Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that begins the book's title. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others.
 
Featuring a well-known list of contributors—including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike—the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk from Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells Yellow Pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island’s parole board.
 
The result is a trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs—and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them—reveal the American spirit at its best.

This I Believe is also available on CD as an audiobook, in both abridged and unabridged editions.  Each essay is read by its author.  Please email academic@macmillan.com for more information.
"To hold this range of beliefs in the palm of your hand is as fine, as grounding, as it was hearing them first on the radio. Heartfelt, deeply cherished beliefs, doctrines for living (yet none of them doctrinaire). Ideas and ideals that nourish. You can see it in their faces, in the photos in this book. And read it in their words. I'm so proud that NPR helped carry this Edward R. Murrow tradition into a new century. And so glad to have it in print, to encounter again and again."—Susan Stamberg, special correspondent, National Public Radio
"To hold this range of beliefs in the palm of your hand is as fine, as grounding, as it was hearing them first on the radio. Heartfelt, deeply cherished beliefs, doctrines for living (yet none of them doctrinaire). Ideas and ideals that nourish. You can see it in their faces, in the photos in this book. And read it in their words. I'm so proud that NPR helped carry this Edward R. Murrow tradition into a new century. And so glad to have it in print, to encounter again and again."—Susan Stamberg, special correspondent, National Public Radio

"Reading this gives me a feeling about this country I rarely get: a very visceral sense of all the different kinds of people who are living together here, with crazily different backgrounds and experiences and dreams. Like a Norman Rockwell painting where all the people happen to be real people, and all the stories are true. It makes me feel hopeful about America, reading this. Hopeful in a way that's in short supply lately."—Ira Glass, Producer and Host of This American Life
 
"My father, Edward R. Murrow, said that 'fresh ideas' from others helped him confront his own challenges. This superb collection of thought-provoking This I Believe essays, both from the new program heard on NPR and from the original 1950s series, provides fresh ideas for all of us!"—Casey Murrow, Elementary Education Publisher
 
"Now, as then, when Edward R. Murrow introduced the idea of This I Believe, this forward-thinking compilation serves as a wonderful antidote to the cynicism of the age."—Daniel Schorr, Senior News Analyst, NPR, and former colleague of Edward R. Murrow
 
"National Public Radio listeners have been moved to tears by the personal essays that constitute the series This I Believe. Created in 1951 with Edward Murrow as host, the sometimes funny, often profound, and always compelling series has been revived, according to host Jay Allison, because, once again, 'matters of belief divide our country and the world.' Oral historian Studs Terkel kicks things off, and 80 personal credos follow. Essays from the original series are interleaved with contemporary essays (selected from more than 11,000 submissions) to create a resounding chorus . . . Appendixes offer guidelines and resources because the urge to write such declarations is contagious, and schools and libraries have been coordinating This I Believe programs, which we believe is a righteous endeavor."—Donna Seaman, Booklist
 
"In an age of disinformation, spin, and lies, NPR's This I Believe comes as a source of refreshment and useful disquiet. NPR revived this 1950s radio series quite recently, and this collection draws transcripts from both the original series and its newer version, including some remarkable statements from the likes of dancer/choreographer Martha Graham, autistic academic Temple Grandin, writer and physicist Alan Lightman, novelist and social critic Thomas Mann, economic historian Arnold Toynbee, and feminist writer Rebecca West. Wonderful . . . astonishing to hear and astonishing to read and reread.”—Library Journal
 
"Allison (the host) and Gediman (the executive producer) [of the radio show] have collected some of the best essays from This I Believe then and now. 'Your personal credo' is what Allison calls it in the book's introduction, noting that today's program is distinguished from the 1950s version in soliciting submissions from ordinary Americans from all walks of life. These make up some of the book's most powerful and memorable moments, from the surgeon whose illiterate mother changed his early life with faith and a library card to the English professor whose poetry helped him process a traumatic childhood event. And in one of the book's most unusual essays, a Burmese immigrant confides that he believes in feeding monkeys on his birthday because a Buddhist monk once prophesied that if he followed this ritual, his family would prosper . . . This feast of ruminations is a treat for any reader."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
 
Table of Contents
Foreword
Studs Terkel
 
Introduction
Jay Allison
 
Be Cool to the Pizza Dude
Sarah Adams
 
Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks
Phyllis Allen
 
In Giving I Connect with Others
Isabel Allende
 
Remembering All the Boys
Elvia Bautista
 
The Mountain Disappears
Leonard Bernstein
 
How Is It Possible to Believe in God?
William F. Buckley, Jr.
 
The Fellowship of the World
Niven Busch
 
There is No Job More Important than Parenting
Benjamin Carson
 
A Journey toward Acceptance and Love
Greg Chapman
 
A Shared Moment of Trust
Warren Christopher
 
The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do
Mary Cook
 
Good Can Be as Communicable as Evil
Norman Corwin
 
A Daily Walk Just to Listen
Susan Cosio
 
The Elusive Yet Holy Core
Kathy Dahlen
 
My Father’s Evening Star
William O. Douglas
 
An Honest Doubter
Have I Learned Anything Important Since I Was Sixteen?
Elizabeth Deutsch Earle
 
An Ideal of Service to Our Fellow Man
Albert Einstein
 
The Power and Mystery of Naming Things
Eve Ensler
 
A Goal of Service to Humankind
Anthony Fauci
 
The God Who Embraced Me
John W. Fountain
 
Unleashing the Power of Creativity
Bill Gates
 
The People Who...



Available at Amazon Check Price Now!


Related Products



Customer Reviews


Great Essays, but I wouldn't buy it if I were you. - Chelsea -
I absolutely love This I Believe. It is one of my favorite radio program, and I think everyone needs to listen to it from time to time. When I saw that my university had chosen this for their "Freshman Connections" book, I was psyched. It really is a magnificent book. Two thumbs way, way up. But don't waste your money on it. Go to thisibelieve.org and listen to the podcasts for free. They're so much more moving that way.






a worthwhile purchase - Ilene Cutler - HIGH FALLS, NY, US
The multiple cds made a perfect gift for friends who were driving cross country. Good for kids and adults alike.



(: - M. Botto - philly
I received the book in perfect condition! It looks brand new even though i bought it used. The book is also great I bought it originally for english class but it's something i also enjoy reading on my own time.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 03, 2010 01:13:04
at 11:13 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)